>> i know 20 of my relatives who would love that bra. >> i think it's going to work. that does it for us, thank you for joining us this morning. >> the "cnn newsroom" with my friend t.j. holmes starts right now. hey, t.j. >> is that supposed to be some cruel joke you all segue to me with that story. you are just telling me today. what is that? >> i was going to say something to you, but i couldn't bring myself to be that cruel. >> thank you for doing that. good to see you, as always, ladies. i will talk to you both soon. top of the hour here, i'm t.j. holmes in for kyra phillips and it's time to vote almost. three weeks away from the all-important iowa caucuses. no surprise last night that the frontrunner got beat up quite a bit. of course, newt gingrich at the presidential debates and the rivals, they exchanged jabs,

engineer jeers and some jokes last night. even though there had been 723 presidential debates you always get something out of these things. maybe the line of the night. listen to who rick perry decided to compare himself to. >> there are a lot of people out there, i understand it. a lot of folks who said tim tebow wasn't going to be a very good nfl quarterback and people stood up and said, well, he doesn't have the right throwing mechanisms or he's not playing the game right. and, you know, he won two national championships and that looked pretty good. we're the national champions in job creation back in texas. but i'm all ready for the next level. let me tell you, i hope i am the tim tebow of the iowa caucuses. >> all right, i'm going to try to get jim acosta to be honest with me. he's in sioux city, iowa. tell me the truth, jim. when you heard that, what was your reaction when you heard him making it through that whole tim tebow comparison? >> he will need to be tim tebow

if he wants to win the iowa caucuses, t.j. people are describing that as the hail mary pass. he needs three or four hail mary passes to win the iowa caucuses that are coming up a couple weeks from now. you said it very well at the top of all this, t.j. this was a tough night for newt gingrich and found out what it is like to be the frontrunner before the caucus begins here in iowa and he was hit early and hi hard. michele bachmann was going right after the former speaker on the issue of all that money that newt gingrich made in the last decade with the mortgage giant freddie mac and she made no bones about it. she basically said he was influenced peddling during his time in washington when he was making that money. here's what she had to say. >> i was trying to see these two entities put into bankruptcy because they frankly need to go away when the speaker had his hand out and he was taking $1.6 million to influence senior

republicans to keep the scam going in washington, d.c. that's absolutely wrong. >> that's just not true. what she said is factually not true. i never lobbied under any circumstance. i never went in and suggested in any way that we do this. >> you don't need to be within the technical definition of being a lobbyist to still be influenced with senior republicans in washington, d.c., to get them to do your bidding. >> i only chose to work with people whose values i shared and having people have a chance to buy a house is a value i believe still is important in america. >> now, you can't say that mitt romney won the night because he played this debate just right. he did not go on the attack on newt gingrich after doing so for most of the week. instead, it really was up to the moderators to challenge the former massachusetts governor on

his record on the criticism from conservatives that he has changed his positions on key issues for political reasons and governor romney had something to say about that when he was challenged on the issue on his positions on gay rights in the past and then rick santorum chimed in. here's how that played out. >> i do not believe discriminating people based upon their sexual orientation. some people that do. i had a member of my administration, my cabinet who was gay. i had the potential to fight for anti-discrimination in a way that would be better as senator kennedy who was a democrat who was expected to do so. at the same time, chris, in 1994 and throughout my career i said i oppose same-sex marriage. marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. >> he personally, as governor, issued gay marriage licenses. i don't think that is an accurate representation of his position of saying tolerance versus substantive changing in the laws. i had a strong, consistent track

record of standing up for the values of this country, not discriminating. i had a no discrimination policy in my office. but we're not talking about discrimination. we're talking about changing the basic values of our country. >> so, that was really the only moment during that debate when the heat was turned up just a little bit on mitt romney. he is off to a good day so far in iowa and have an event here in a few minutes inside a steel factory inside sioux city. but the real main event for mitt romney is later today. he'll fly down to south carolina where he will pick up the endorsement officially of the governor of that state. and that is a key endorsement for mitt romney. you know, t.j., if he can somehow pull off an upset win in iowa or finish off a strong second and finish strong in south carolina, he is going to be looking very good in these early contests, t.j. >> the debates are over for now, at least. until we get to iowa, last

debate last night. jim acosta on the trail for us, thank you, as always. we'll have another political update in one hour and a reminder for all the political news, you know the spot, cnnpolitics.com. let's turn to washington, d.c., collective sigh of relief across the capital this morning. congressional leaders appear to have defused tonight's deadline to shut down the federal government. lawmakers will vote on a tentative deal later today. kate bolduan, we talked about this yesterday. we weren't worried at all. >> nah, it was always full confidence up here all the time, t.j. as you know. yes, a bit of good news to give all of our viewers from capitol hill, which seems to be more and more rare these days. it seems congress has been able to avoid a government shut down that would becoming, threatened to really kind of set in later this evening as a last spending bill that was set to expire at the end of today. congressional leaders last night, they were able to finalize a spending bill that would fund the government through the rest of fiscal year

2012, hammering out their differences and now the house and senate, the house is set to vote on it later today. the senate is also hoping to vote on it later today. so, a bit of good news amongst the latest round of brinksmanship on capitol hill as they are able to avert a government shutdown that would affect really every american in every way, shape or form, t.j.? >> the payroll tax, if you can, quickly, what is the update there? >> the update is they're still talking and they have not yet decided if they're going to be able to reach a deal as well as extend unemployment assistance and prevent a scheduled cut to payments to doctors who treat medicare patients. they're talking, they're not there yet and, in the meantime, senate democrats, they're now floating an idea, weighing an idea to offer a two-month extension of these provisions. as a backstopper or a fallbacker. if they're not able to reach

agreement by the end of the year when this tax cut expires, they're floating that idea. it's not final, i'm told, but, still, they're pushing for the one-year extension of all this stuff and they're talking and still negotiating behind closed doors and that's where everyone will be focused now that the government shutdown is off the table, t.j. >> kate bolduan, thank you, as always. just eight minutes past the hour. want to turn back to penn state here for a moment. that child molestation scandal, we can learn a whole lot more about mike mcqueary. he's the coach who allegedly saw something in the showers there. they're conflicting accounts of whether he walked in on former coach jerry sandusky sexually abusing a young boy and what he told people afterward. that's pivotal in today's hearing for two former school officials. they are accused of perjury and failing to report the suspected molestation. susan candiotti is on the story for us in harrisburg, pennsylvania. what are we expecting today? >> well, it should be a very

interesting and possibly a very dramatic and frankly exciting day because we might be getting more details from mike mcqueary, who you just talked about. he is in the courthouse, so are the two co-defendants in this case, tim curley and gary schultz, the two penn state officials. mike mcqueary's testimony is very critical for the state making its case. and the state has said this morning, they announced that they will hear testimony from five live witnesses and also from three people whose testimony to the grand jury will be read into the record. and this could last probably half a day. now, what's important about mike mcqueary's testimony is that he's expected to take the stand and say what we heard from the grand jury that he told them under oath that he witnessed the alleged rape of a boy in a penn state locker room shower in 2002 when the boy was allegedly being raped by jerry sandusky. now, the two officials are

saying that when mcqueary reported this to coach joe paterno and to those officials, that he didn't mention anything about a rape. they said it was just something of a sexual nature. so, now, for the first time, we will hear details from mcqueary himself about what he says they saw. that's why this is a perjury case, but also a matter of whether those two officials then failed to report this to authorities. >> all right, susan candiotti for us in pennsylvania, thank you. we'll keep an eye on that for our viewers today. we're about ten minutes past the hour now and kind of common sense. does anyone need to tell you that nuclear material is not allowed in your luggage when you're trying to fly? let me bring in zain verjee who is in london for us. zain, just some things. you are not supposed to take a knife or nuclear material on a plane. what happened here? >> what happened was is that this was a flight from moscow to tehran and it was found in a passenger's luggage. actually, it was 20 times the normal levels of radiation

levels that you normally have there and it raised a red flag and this is what the federal customs service said in a statement. i'll just read it to you. they said 18 metallic objects of industrial origin were found packed into individual steel boxes. tests then found that the objects were, in fact, the radio active isotope sodium 22 and could have only been obtained as the result of inwork of a nuclear reactor. that's an important last line because that is a direct contradiction to russia's atomic agency who says that this kind of stuff, sodium 22 is only used for medical and scientific research. now, cnn spoke to a nuclear expert that said, number one, there is no radiation hazard here given the levels that were still high, but there's not necessarily a radiation hazard and that every medical lab will tend to have radiation sources of sodium-22. so, a lot of question marks

about this and the two key russian agencies are conflicting with information as to what exactly this has been used for. iran and russia have this kind of an agreement, t.j., on the supply of some medical isotopes and tehran also has a medical research reactor and they run out of fuel for it in tehran. they do try to get other stuff in other ways. but a big question mark here. >> kind of confusing story. zain verjee in london for us. 12 minutes past the hour, and today is the day for barry bonds. could he be going to prison or could he just be getting probation? he will learn his fate after all these years of being in the middle of a steroid scandal. our conversation with a sports lawyer who knows a thing or two about these kind of cases. also, a baby born so small, she could fit into the palm of her doctor's hand. she's now defying the odds so much that this is one that

qualifies as a miracle. i'm good about washing my face. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. so skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals. s e. i lyou alo. [ male aou b t sp elerocs

it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. some stories making news for this country. look at this picture. launching an investigation into this controversial photo that has now gone viral. what you're seeing here, 15 airmen posing around an open cask casket, similar to the one used to carry the war dead home and one of the airmen there pretending to be dead inside the

casket with a noose around his neck and chains across his body. why they took the picture we do not know. we will keep you posted there. that is a florida a&m students. they're standing behind their president. they're upset that governor rick scott is calling for the suspension over hazing and financial irregularities. right to the governor's front doorstep. nothing short of a miracle here. this is how doctors are describing this little one. a california baby being born weighing less than a pound. this is baby melinda now weighing up to four pounds and could actually be home in time for the new year. she is the third smallest baby ever to survive. 16 minutes past the hour. let me turn to barry bonds now. he will learn his punishment today. a judge will sentence him for misleading a grand jury that was

looking into steroid use among proathletes. they want to send him to prissen for about 15 months, but is that really going to happen? david cornel has been around this game for quite some time now and now representing ryan braun who is in a situation with a banned substance. barry bonds is not going to jail, is he? >> no, he's not. barry may have been convicted in the court of public opinion about lying about steroids, but he was charged with three charges of perjury, the jury deadlocked and the government dropped those charges. he's been convicted of obstruction of justice, which is being evasive to the grand jury. and may be the most high-profile defendant. >> i don't want to down play this, but we were talking about this before we went on the air. the charge compared to the perjury is fairly insignificantly. >> not only compared to the perjury, as you point out, but compared to what everybody else

in the balco case is aware of. why house arrest, i don't think that he'll get home detention. he'll get some form of restrictive probation and he's not going to prison and i guess in the mix is whether or not he'll have home detention. >> do judges ever feel pressure? this has been going on almost ten years now and the highest profile guy and all this money going in to go after and get some community service and probation and that's it. what was all this for? >> that's a great question. i'm trying to figure that out, as well. they took what really is an issue for the fans. fans could have voted with their pocketbooks and stopped going to baseball game or a violation, whether they didn't have a drug program or steroid program then, but an administrative violation of a private business. this is high profile and i think nowitzki is a good guy and

overstepping their bounds. too much money was spent on this and a waste of government resources. >> we can't let you get out of here, you are representing ryan braun and this is a first now if someone appealed one of these bands. this would be the first time ever that they would be successful in an appeal. you think your client is going to be successful in appealing what has been now a positive test for some banned substances. >> i appreciate you not referring to me as the tim tebow of sports lawyers. i have to tell you, the breathless coverage of ryan's situation, i think, is frankly reprehensible. i think confidentiality is breached here and i think we will find, i fully expect to be able to demonstrate that ryan did not violate the substance policy of major league baseball. and consequently, we shouldn't be dealing with this discussion at all, but at a minimum, i urge everybody to keep an open mind and give us the chance to make

our case in private. >> we hear he can face a 50-game suspension. that's why people are talking about it. >> the reason people are talking about it is because people breached confidentiality. the public shouldn't even know about this yet. the only way you should know about it is if he is found to violate after the appeal process has been exhausted. >> we'll continue to check in with you on that one. always good to have you, always good to chat with you. thanks so much. 20 minutes past the hour. today is the day, folks. free shipping day. you buy some stuff, gets there by the 24th. will you take advantage of this one? we'll tell you how. you better stay with me. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk.

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military arraignment is just

getting under way for an army private suspected to be behind the biggest intelligence leak in u.s. history. investigators believe 22-year-old bradley manning is the person who leaked a trove of sensitive documents to wikileaks. brian todd is at the hearing as the government begins to make its case. >> t.j., it should be a fascinating few days here at ft. mead, maryland. this is what they call an article 32 hearing, a military equivalent of a grand jury in civilian courts. this will determine if the chief suspect army private bradley manning is remanded for a full court-martial. he is charged with 22 counts of violating the military code, including theft of records. that is hundreds of thousands of classified documents that were leaked out and eventually made their way under wickyleaks.org. another charge is aiding the enemy. the last charge is the one that could land private manning in prison for life. he could get the death penalty, but it is seen as unlikely that

prosecutors will argue for that. his defense team, as told by supporters, has drawn up an ambitious wish list including president obama and hillary clinton. we're told the reason for that is because president obama made remarks that private manning broke the law and his defense team may argue that that was what they call undue command influence on this case. when a commander in chief makes public remarks like that, is there a chance that this guy could get a fair trial. his defense team may argue that he can't. other hearings will come up including the way private manning was treated while he was held at the brig in quantico, virginia, the marine base there. he was deprived of sleep and deprived of clothing. the military has said he was treated appropriately, but the military has since moved him to ft. lavinworth, kansas, for the remainder of his detention. a lot of issues will come up here. one key point of contention is going to be how much national

security was damaged by the leaking. his supporters argue that no one was really hurt and no one was killed. that national security was not damaged as much as u.s. officials are saying, but, again, those are some details that have not come out publicly and we may hear some of those details during this article 32 hearing in the next few days. t.j.? if you've been holding off on ordering those gifts, sending those gifts, today is the day to make the move. careana hubert is at the new york stock exchange. today is free shipping day. do tell. >> yeah, t.j., this is the day to make your move if you're one of the last-minute shoppers. nearly 2,600 stores across the country are participating from bed, bath & beyond and the idea is to attract the last-minute shoppers looking for some sasks who also want to get the goods

in time for christmas. many retailers also throwing in extra perks like free gift wrapping or even upgrading to free two-day shipping. you have to really pay attention to the details because there are some catches. while many companies are offering free shipping on everything, you have to check with individual retailers. for example, we looked at j.c. p penny. so, if you want to get more information, make sure you don't have to pay for that shipping, go to freeshippingday.com and you also get a bunch of promo codes there, as well. >> you sure? that's cutting it close to try to get it there on christmas eve. >> it is. listen, i don't think there's a 100% guarantee, but your odds are pretty good you get it on the 24th. >> we are a few minutes away from the opening, what are we seeing today? >> well, it's looking like a green day on wall street. we are, yeah, exactly four minutes away from the opening of trading and we are expecting a 45-point rise on the dow. seems optimism about europe and the latest item showed that

inflation pretty much in check last month. a little bit of optimism today to keep those markets in positive territory. >> we'll check in with you here shortly. sheriff joe arpaio is a household name because of his tough stance. that toughness amounted to civil rights abuses. that story, plus, the sheriff's response, next. i'm good about washing my face. but sometimes i wonder... what's left behind? [ female announcer ] purifying facial cleanser from neutrogena® naturals. removes 99% of dirt and toxins without dyes, parabens or harsh sulfates. so skin feels pure and healthy. [ female announcer ] from neutrogena® naturals.

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as we come up on the bottom of the hour, give you the headlines here in a moment. joe arpaio the sheriff who could be the toughest sheriff in the country when it comes to illegal immigration, the feds now think he's been a little too tough on latinos in the phoenix area. arpaio's policies violated their civil rights. arpaio says it's pure politics. our casey wian on the story. >> reporter: joe arpaio often brags about being the toughest sheriff in america, especially on illegal immigration. now, after a three-year investigation, the justice department says his policies and practices are violating the civil rights of all latinos in this arizona county. >> our expert found that latino drivers are four to nine times more likely to be stopped than similarly situated nonlatino drivers. the conduct that he observed involved the most egregious racial profiling in the united states that he had ever

personally observed. >> reporter: a blistering investigative report accuses arpaio's department of the unlawful detention and arrest of latinos. unlawful retaliation against critics and discrimination against spanish-speaking inmates. the charges are civil and also an ongoing criminal investigation. the government says both have been delayed by a lack of cooperation by the sheriff's department. >> i do have compassion, but i'll tell you one thing, enforcing the law overrides my compassion. that's as simple as you can get it. i took an oath of office. i am enforcing the state and the federal laws. >> reporter: the department of homeland security says it will restrict their access to federal immigration resources. the justice department also identified what it called other areas of concern, including the use of excessive force against latinos, lack of adequate police protection in latino neighborhoods and a failure to investigate sexual assaults.

the justice department cites the los angeles police department as an example of a law enforcement agency that has successfully reformed after allegations of civil rights violations. it has given sheriff arpaio 60 days to show good faith cooperation or face these allegations in court. casey wian, cnn, los angeles. just past the bottom of the hour, we're getting new information from a hearing going on right now about that penn state child molestation scandal. one of the key witnesses has taken the stand this morning. mike mcqueary, you heard his name before. he is the coach who allegedly saw, allegedly saw jerry sandusky, the assistant coach who is accused, saw him in that shower with a young boy. i'll turn to our susan candiotti with what we're getting from this hearing. i've been reading some of this stuff, too, disturbing details coming out of there. >> very dramatic testimony and this, of course, is what everyone had been wanting to

hear, this detail. this is what we're hearing on the witness stand in realtime from our producers inside. mcqueary testified that when he went to the locker rooms in order to pick up some recruiting tapes, he looked, he saw something going on in a mirror that was in the locker room. something that was going on and he heard some slapping noise going on in the shower. he turned to look and he said that he saw jerry sandusky and a boy in the shower. he said that the boy was up against the wall. he testified that the boy's hands were shoulder height. he said that jerry was close to him standing behind the boy. and that jerry sandusky had his hands around the boy's waist. he testified that he believed that jerry sandusky was molesting, sexually molesting the boy based on sandusky's position around the boy, behind the boy. he said that he did not see intercourse going on, but he believed that that's what was happening. and then he went on to say that he moved forward toward the

shower. he had turned to see that this was happening in the shower and then took some steps toward them. he said at that time they both turned their bodies so they were both facing me and looked at me. they were about four or five feet apart. he said mcqueary that he didn't say anything to either one of them, but he did say that they looked directly into his eyes and seeing that they were separated, he decided it was best to leave the locker room. he said that he was testified that he was shocked and horrified and distraught. t.j.? >> all right, thank you. i know to our viewers, a lot of that is difficult to hear, but an important hearing going on about two former penn state officials who are facing charges that they didn't do enough to actually, to actually inform authorities when they had heard about some of these accusations. you see them, the two former penn state officials there. that's what this hearing is about. but mcqueary having to take the stand today and having to testify about what he saw. those are some of those, again,

disturbing details you are hearing. 34 minutes past the hour. stay with me. a whole lot more coming for you after the break. [ female announcer ] lactaid milk is easy to digest. it's real milk full of calcium and vitamin d. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk.

well, it appears she's about to do it again. tmz reporting that britney spears is getting engaged. "showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer live for us in new york.

who is this guy? >> he's a very lucky guy in some people's mind. he's a tent agent, t.j. his name is jason. it's not an inspire surprise but the report is not saying they're engaged just yet. they will get engaged tonight in las vegas. he has been seen shopping for an engagement ring and apparently also asked permission from spears' dad and arranged things with britney's conservators. remember she had some pretty public break downs back then. basically means a judge has to sign off on any major decisions made by britney. this is pretty major. according to reports, they haven't ended the conservat conservatorship setup because it has been working so well for britney's career and life. britney married her first husband, that relationship

didn't go so well. this will be much more smooth. just in case, even though they're not actually engaged yet, the reports are already indicating there will be prenup in place. britney knows this is coming, t.j. not like we're spoiling any big surprise here. >> you have to get the okay from the dad, but you have to get the okay from a judge before you get engaged. where is the romance? >> well, you know, it's 2011. >> one other thing here. this is an odd connection. what's thing thing, jon huntsman, the gop candidate, his daughter and kim kardashian. what's the deal? >> what do you mean? it's not obvious to you. just come out of the clear blue. no, it will surprise you, but actually a pretty direct connection. jon huntsman's daughter went on a date with her soon to be ex-husband. but this was years before

humphries met kardashian and the date didn't go so well. the next time mary ann saw humphries he was dating kim kardashian. there you go huntsman to kardashian in two simple degrees. >> a.j., i don't know what i would do without you, my man. a.j. hammer, he'll be back with us next hour, as well. with all the "showbiz headlines" including katie perry's big honor and how she is being named tv's artist of the year. married adults could be the next american minority. we'll talk about some new stats that show a huge decline. also, batman gets roughed up in china? christian bale's visit or attempted visit to a detained activist. we'll give you the update and show you the video. stay here. to supply affordable, cleaner energy, while protecting our environment. across america, these technologies protect air -

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some folks call me a rock star, some call me the mayor... and i love it. and, i make everybody happy. i keep my business insurance with the hartford because...

they came through for me once, and i know they've got my back. for whatever challenges come your way... the hartford is here to back you up. helping you move ahead... with confidence. meet some of our small business customers at: thehartford.com/business i don't think about the unknown... i just rock n' roll. brian todd has been checking out this military arraignment today that was getting under way for the army private suspected of intelligent leak in u.s. history. got developments coming out of there. what have you got, t.j.? >> the defense has come out with its guns blazing. defense attorney david coombs is asking the investigating officer, who is the judge in this case, to recuse himself. he laid out four key reasons for this, basically saying that the

judge a career prosecutor with the department of justice and doj may bring his own proceedings against manning. he said that he has been very unfair and the number of government witnesses he has allowed versus the number of defense witnesses he has allowed in this case and ruling that this hearing could be open to the press and he has given prejudicial rulings regarding sworn statements. so, the attorney for bradley manning really coming out and attacking the judge in this case, lieutenant colonel saying you should recuse yourself from this and you've been prejudicial every step of the way. he was very animated at the time he said this. private manning sat very upright and very attentive to the proceedings and wore a dark crew cut looking different from the pictures that we saw. when he was asked if he understood the charges against him saying, yes, sir, no, sir and then his lawyer just came

out and really started immediately to attack the judge in this article 32 hearing. so, a very early indication, t.j., about how contentious this is going to be. >> brian todd on the line with the update. thank you so much. we'll continue to keep an eye on it there. a quarter to the top of the hour and married american adults are fewer and farer between. they crunched the latest census numbers and found that only 51% of adults out there over 18, yes, are married. that's down from 57% just ten years ago. it's way down from the 72% back in 1960. ralph richard banks teaches family law at stanford and also author of the book "is marriage for white people." he has become a friend of our show here for the past several months. he's back with us now. rick, good to have you back with us. what happens to this country if what appears to be inevitable happens in a few years, which is

most people in this country, adults, are going to be unwed versus wed. how does that change this country? >> well, if present trends continue mirror ever more closely the experience of african-americans. african-americans are the least likely to marry. that seemed unusual 40 years ago or 30 years ago and now become quite widespread. >> why? >> well, there are a lot of reasons. one big category reason really is the cultural changes. it used to be that marriage was a package deal. you had to get married to have children and have a family to live with someone. and now you don't. right. it's more of a ala cart situation. marriage is more of a luxury and people have their freedom not to marry and people are taking advantage of that. the other reasons relate to economics. the other set of reasons relate to economics. marriage rates decline when men

economic fortunes decline. men are not doing as well relative to women as they have in the past. we see this in particularly acute form. >> rick, you have said before that this is really attributed to the plight, if you will, and the struggles of the back community. has directly to do with the break down of the family and these struggles, but you're saying the plight of the rest of the country will start to mirror what's happening in african-american community. are you saying we can see a country with some of those same issues and struggles and more of a dire situation as a whole, if people aren't getting married as much? >> well, i learned long ago never to predict the future. so, i won't do that. but i will say that the experiences of african-americans are representative of what happens throughout american society and if you want to understand what's happening within american society, perhaps the best way to do it is to look at what's happening with black folks. one of the things that's happening with black folks which is very troubling, in effect,

more than seven out of ten black children are married to unmarried parents. this is a result of the marriage decline. so, the trends are moving in the same direction and that particular one is a troubling one. >> can this just be a cultural shift? maybe people just turned off by marriage these days, don't want to get married. >> well, people are turned off by it. people are not turned off by it. people have an aspiration. one of the remarkable things in the united states, how much people want to be married. they can't realize the hopes that they have in marriage. so, it's very difficult to make that, to cut that deal, if you will. among african-americans, it's especially difficult to cut that deal, in part, because black men are not fairing well, but the same struggles and same challenges among other groups. >> all right, rick, now, marriage is just an aspiration and that is just not good.

mine is certainly living up to my expectations, exceeding them, actually. you and i i know will be talking plenty down the road. always a pleasure to chat with you and this is a conversation i really enjoyed with you over time. i appreciate you coming in, again. we'll see you soon. >> i'll look forward to it. we're about ten minutes to the top of the hour now and batman getting roughed up in china. talking about christian bale here. he was trying to take a visit to a detained activist. he didn't make it. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa.

well, movie stars usually treated pretty well, right? they're not used to being tossed around by thugs, but that's kind of what happened to actor christian bale. watch this. >> why can't i go see this man? >> this is the dark knight star. guy that plays batman. he was trying to visit a detained activist in china. didn't happen. security officers blocked his way. a cnn crew just happened to be with him. a lot of this was caught on tape. zain verjee back with me. what's going on here? >> well, christian bale is in china and he had been filming a movie there a while ago called "the flowers of war" a wartime drama. he's back in china. he said i'm going to shine the spotlight on a guy that's done amazing stuff and really push for his cause. what he was trying to do there in the video where you saw him

being -- there were skuffles, the guards were yelling, they confronted him and our crew a little bit, he was trying to go meet with this 40-year-old blind activist. he's a self-taught lawyer and he's actually under house arrest with his wife, his daughter, his mother. his entire family basically there. he was in jail and the chinese decided to have him under house arrest. this is a i guy who in the 1990s really advocated for victims of abusive practices by china's family planning officials. he got in the crossfires of the government. what christian's trying to do is he heard the story and wanted to raise awareness. in this video he's trying to visit the activist and the chinese officials won't let him. >> zain verjee with the update from china. thank you. we're about 7 minutes to the top of the hour. following a lot of new stuff in the next hour. let's check in with some of our correspondents starting with my

man, dan simon. >> t.j., baseball's home run king barry bonds finds out if he'll get a new home today in federal prison. a judge will deliver his fate. >> i'm mark preston in washington. last night the seven republican presidential candidates began their closing arguments to the voters of iowa. the all important iowa caucus is tweaks away. i'll have more at the top of the hour. >> and i'm kate baldwin on capitol hill. congress has diverted a shutdown. what does that mean for the ongoing negotiations to extend the payroll tax cut. next hour, just how low can they go? a mortgage rate update. you need to hear this. us cell pe and...an apology card. this is ridiculous. yeah, and it's got apps. nice.

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our guy, jeff, a good friend from hln sports. a couple of odd stories in sports today. one kind of disturbing. we won't start with that. >> start with nfl. thursday night game the falcons and jaguars. the falcons playing the best football right now. it was bad timing for the jaguars. they're having a season to forget. qb matt ryan. another season over 1,000 yards.

he scores less than 5 minutes into the game. michael turner over 1,000 yards rushing. he puts the pig in the pen. the falcons are in the driver's seat for a while. 41-14 the final. ryan had two td passes. the jags are 4 and 10. this is one of the shockers, sam mull hurtd is under arrest for allegedly trying to set up a drug ring. he was caught in an undercover sting after a five-month investigation. he allegedly tried to buy up to a quarter of a million worth of cocaine. if convicted he could spend 40 years in prison. new reports say a fourth man has come forward to accuse former syracuse basketball coach bernie fine. the man, a new york prison inmate serving time for burglary says fine began molesting him as a teen. it went on for decades. he also claims to know of at least two other people allegedly

victimized by fine. fine has denied all charges so far. on the court in college hoops marcus denman and the missouri tigers, the steel and the score for the tigers. they've been so good so early in the season. he was one of five tigers in double figures. they dominate 104-67. they are 10-0. finally, this happened in london, ontario, yesterday. a high school hockey game had to stop after a deflected slap shot sent the puck into the sprinkler in the roof. it started showering the ice with water. that's not the ice melting, that's water coming down onto the ice. a fire crew was called in and the arena supervisor was able to get the water shut off. >> where did that puck fly off to? >> it was deflected, straight off into the roof and there's a sprinkler there busted. next thing you know the ice is covered with water. >> jeff, good to see you as always. thank you so much. we're at the top of the hour

here on this friday morning. i am t.j. holmes in today for kyra phillips. kind of a sigh of relief. everybody can kind of let it out today. especially in washington, d.c. they appear to have diffused a deadline to shut down the government. this will keep the lights on for now it appears, but congress is not finished doing its work. kate baldwin on capitol hill. they're trying to get out of there for the holiday. >> reporter: of course they are. i feel like we should pause and relish this moment to say that good news came from capitol hill. they agreed, compromised and agreed to avert this government shutdown. that's short lived because they're still negotiating and have not reached agreement on the other big standoff that we have been covering, how to extend this payroll tax cut for about 160 million americans. this tax cut expires at the end of the year and we're told the negotiations between congressional leaders and top aids, they continued late into the evening last night. they will continue today.

the hangups seem to be honestly the same hangups that really have been there all along. how to pay for this package, if you will. how to cover the cost of the tax cuts and the unemployment and the other tax extenders in the bill. as well as what to do about the keystone pipeline provision that republicans have insisted must be part of any final deal and house speaker john boehner reiterated that insistence just a short time ago. democrats don't want that in the deal. the president has been opposed to including it in this payroll tax extension deal, but that is all part of the negotiations that are ongoing. meantime, they're trying to continue these talks to extend the payroll tax cut for a year, senate democrats are floating an idea in considering putting forth a proposal to do a short-term extension, a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut.

unemployment assistance as well as a two-month extension to prevent cuts to payments to doctors who treat medicare patients. they say it's a fallback measure, backstop if you will to make sure if they can't reach agreement by the deadline that people do not see their paycheck cut as the tax cut would be expiring. so that's still ongoing. that's not finalized. talks are continuing though, t.j. we are following it minute by minute. >> we know you are. always a pleasure. thanks so much. we'll continue to keep an eye on what's happening there. we're also three weeks away from the all important iowa caucuses. no surprise last night that newt gingrich who is the front-runner now, he was the target last night at the presidential debate. it's the last debate before they start voting in iowa come the first of january. our senior political editor mark preston is with us in washington, d.c. nobody really dropped the ball but a major gaffe last night.

>> no winners and losers unless you say some of the lower candidates who might have had strong performances needed really strong performances. we are weeks away from the iowa caucuses. the fact of the matter is voters are heading to the polls. if they want a chance at getting into this presidential race, they need to do it now. we saw this last night from michele bachmann trying to force her way back in to the presidential race. she was the one who decided to go after newt gingrich and she went after him over his controversial payments he received as a consultant to freddie mac. in fact, let's listen to what she had to say. >> i was trying to see these two entities put into bankruptcy because they frankly need to go away when the speaker had his hand out and he was taking $1.6 million to influence senior republicans to keep the scam going in washington, d.c. that's absolutely wrong. >> the easiest answer is, that's

just not true. >> there you have speaker gingrich standing in the middle of the state taking incoming from everyone up there except for mitt romney. you would expect mitt romney who had lost his front-runner status to newt gingrich to try to ding him up a little bit, t.j. he decided not to. he did come under some questioning himself regarding social issues. the fox moderators asked him how he had changed on such issues as abortion. he said that, look, he has grown over time and, look, that's what happens to people. you change your mind. on the issue of abortion, mitt romney said that he made a mistake. >> yeah. it was really one of the things that stood out last night, the way that michele bachmann really was going at really ron paul and going at newt gingrich. then the other moment that stood out was tim tebow is everywhere these days. he even found his way on to a republican debate. >> yeah, no doubt, right? so tim tebow for us, like you and i who are big sports fans, he was somebody who wasn't supposed to be a superstar in

the nfl. rick perry, comes out and decides to compare himself to tim tebow. he was the front-runner back in august. he was what we would call the flavor of the presidential race at one point. he has fallen in the polls. he said he will become the tim tebow of the iowa caucuses. we'll have to see what happens. >> i think tebow is actually polling better than rick perry is in iowa. mark preston, thank you as always. we'll see mark again. he'll join us later with an announcement about a huge endorsement for one of the candidates now. we won't give it away now. we'll come back and check it in with you. >> terrific. ten minutes from now we'll check the pulse of what voters are saying in iowa this morning. syndicated radio talk show host, steve dase. he is here to tell us what his listeners are telling us about the debate. he's a good person to check in with. also barry bonds, he'll know his punishment today.

a judge will sentence him for misleading a grand jury. federal prosecutors want to send the all time home run leader to prison for 15 months. dan simon is in san francisco. dan, by every account i hear, that's not going to happen. >> most legal experts think he'll get home confinement which for barry bonds isn't so bad. he lives in a 10 bedroom mansion in beverly hills. that beats the alternative to federal prison. this is a case that goes back all the way to 2003. it's been lingering on for so many years. his legacy in baseball will be debated for many years to come in the wake of the steroid era in major league baseball. that's an entirely different question with what the judge is faced with today. she has to decide whether or not to send him to prison. home confinement or maybe probation. this case started eight years ago. this was a major steroid scandal

that originated here in the san francisco bay area. barry bonds was called to testify in front of a grand jury about that case and in that testimony he said he had never used steroids and so prosecutors charged him with perjury as well as obstruction of justice. there was only one charge that stuck. it was that obstruction of justice charge. here we are today, barry bonds will receive his fate from the judge in a couple hours from now. >> dan simon there for us. thank you so much. seven minutes past the hour. penn state. child molestation scandal. we're learning more today about what mike mcquery says he saw in the showers of penn state's football program. susan candiotti is at a hearing in harrisburg, pennsylvania. on the scene there. we have learned a lot this morning. we do need to warn our viewers here, some disturbing details coming out. susan? >> reporter: good idea to give people a chance if they don't want to hear this to perhaps

turn away at this time, but it is disturbing testimony. it is the first time we're hearing directly from someone who said that he was an eye witness to an alleged sexual attack, a rape of a boy in the shower room. this is the assistant coach, mike mccareer ri, who at the time was a graduate student. he said he went into the shower room late at night in 2002 and testified that when he looked directly into the shower he saw, he says, jerry sandusky and a boy. mcqueary describes that the boy's hands were up against the shower wall shoulder height. mcqueary testified that he saw jerry sandusky with his hands wrapped around the boy's waist and that he had heard slapping noises going on in the shower as well. mcqueary testified that he believed that this was sexual intercourse going on though he couldn't say directly that he saw everything he needed to see to say that, but he had no doubt

in his mind that that's what was happening. he said that he walked toward the shower. the two people turned around, sandusky and the boy, he says, and that they looked each other directly in the eye. mcqueary then left the locker room, said he was shook up and shocked. first thing he did was to call his father. didn't call police, called his father because he said, i respected him. i needed his advice about what to do. they decided that he should call coach joe paterno first thing in the morning and, in fact, he did early in the morning. paterno kind of joked and said if you're calling me about a job, this isn't the time. there was actually laufter in the courtroom during this part of the testimony. then mcqueary testified that he told paterno he saw something extremely sexual going on in the shower between sandusky and the boy. mcqueary testified that he didn't use the word s so domy or

intercourse with paterno out of respect for him but that he saw something extremely sexual going on. paterno told him he was disturbed about it and that he would take care of it. at that point it was nine days later mcqueary testified that he eventually got a call from the two penn state officials who are now charged with failing to report child abuse and perjury before the grand jury. mcqueary said he told them that something extremely sexual was going on. it was some type of sexual intercourse that happened between allegedly sandusky and the boy. t.j. >> all right. susan candiotti again. new, disturbing details. really going to play a role in this case as it goes forward. thank you so much. ten minutes past the hour. now going to turn to another disturbing story. this one having to do with airport security. you know you're not supposed to take pocket knives and guns if you're getting on a plane. customs agents in russia, they got a surprise when they stumbled on to some nuclear

material? zain verjee with me once again to explain this. how in the world did this happen? >> well, some passengers stuffed a little radioactive material into their suitcase and thought they would get away with it. it was on a flight going from moscow to tehran. now according to reports, the passenger was an iranian and authorities detected radiation 20 times above normal. so they checked out the luggage and low and bow hold the federal customs service issued this statement. what they're saying is this, 18 metal lick objects of industrial origin were found packed into individual steel boxes. they went on to say that tests found it was radioactive isotope sodium-22 and could only have been obtained as the result of the work of a nuclear reactor. that statement is in direct contradiction with russia's atomic agency that says sodium-22 is used for medical and scientific research.

what the facts here are we're not cletly sure, but these are two conflicting opinions. there's a criminal investigation going on. cnn's talked to a nuclear expert that said, one, there is not a radiation hazard here and, two, every radiation lab will tend to have sources of sodium-22. by the way, russia and iran have this deal where iran does get medical isotopes and things of that nature under an agreement that they have. iran has a medical reactor in tehran and they run out of fuel so they're doing all sorts of things to get what they need. whether it's just for medical and scientific research or nuclear or otherwise, it's unclear. t.j.? >> zain verjee. thank you so much. 12 minutes past the hour now. marching from campus to the governor's mansion. famu students say they're not going anywhere for now. they're calling on governor rick scott to change their mind about the school's president. next.

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ttd# 1-800-345-2550 ttd# 1-800-345-2550 so talk to chuck, and see how we can help you, not sell you. ttd# 1-800-345-2550 quarter past the hour. in florida famu students are rallying behind their president. students are upset that florida governor rick scott is calling for the board of trustees to suspend dr. james ammons when it meets monday over hazing and financial irregularities. last night they took it right to the governor's front door to

tell him face to face how they're feeling. >> we are not going to leave. mr. governor, with all due respect, we will be here all night, all day tomorrow until you apologize and rescind that recommendati recommendation. >> we support our president. we can get through without the intervention of the governor. >> the issue is robert champion. we're moving so quickly and we're for getting about what the issue is. now we're focusing on the fraud and we have to find another president. >> investigators looking into last month's suspected hazing death of drum major robert champion. they found evidence of financial irregularities. three other band members are facing charges in a separate incident. look now at some stories making news cross-country. a man who's been on trial in minnesota is accused of opening fire in the courthouse. police say he shot a prosecutor and two others yesterday on the same day he was convicted of

sexually assaulting two young girls. no idea how he got his hands on a gun. officials in texas have launched an investigation into this picture. a controversial picture that's now gone viral. what you're seeing 15 airmen posing around an open casket. what you see is one of the airmen pretending to be dead inside the casket with a noose around his neck and chains around his body. trying to figure out why the picture was taken. also a miracle. that's how doctors are describing this california baby who was born weighing less than a pound. baby melinda now up to 4 pounds. could be home, would you get this, by the new year. she's the third smallest baby to ever survive. let's turn back to politics. we're talking politics we have to be talking about iowa.

the caucuses a couple weeks away. a recent poll shows newt gingrich still on top there. mitt romney and ron paul have been sampling a margin of error. the debate, did it change anything? everybody ganging up on newt gingrich. he's a front-runner. that's what happens. he's had to defend himself against being zany. >> i sometimes get accused of using language that's too strong so i've been standing here editing. i'm very concerned about not appearing to be zany. >> steve is the guy to talk to. he's talking and listening to iowa voters all the time. steve, are they wear thing to make up their minds? >> i think there's a lot of people that are still waiting to make up their minds, and i think there's a lot of people that have made up their minds but they're willing to make them up again. >> steve, is it a case if they're waiting because they just love all of their options it's so hard to decide or is it

because they don't really like all of their options? >> i would have said six months ago it was the latter. i actually think this field of candidates has gotten demonstrably better over the last six months. i hate to say this as a conservative, you guys are partially to thank for it because there's been so many debates. iron sharpens iron. the candidates have all gotten better to some extent over the last few months. >> i'll deal with that little shot you took at the media. tell me here, some of these debates, have the debates, you're right, there have been so many, has that kind of replaced that retail politics? are people getting such a view of these candidates on tv over really months now that maybe they don't need to be shaking a lot of hands? >> i think your observation is very astute. i think there's a lot of long-time iowa politicos who regret that.

ron paul is the most quirky candidate in the race. he's by far got the best ground game in iowa. his team has done the best job at retail politics. >> i was talking to you during the commercial break about the things that stood out to you last night. talk about some of the highlights that people talk about, the moment about tim tebow and all of that. what stood out to you, clearly michele bachmann was on the offensive last night. you think she did damage to two candidates. >> i thought she did damage to both newt gingrich on fan any and freddie and ron paul on foreign policy according to a lot of the response that i saw in my own analysis. i thought newt gingrich was very strong after those initial attacks from her, i thought he was very strong in the second hour, particularly on an issue that eiowa ans care a lot about. she did damage to those candidates. the debate for ron paul, it reminded me about the debate before the straw poll where rick santorum deconstructed ron paul.

i thought she did the same thing and was even tougher on him. i think those answers probably cost ron paul a victory in the iowa straw poll. he only lost by 150 votes. i think it might cost him some points. >> i have 30 seconds here. do you endorse on your radio program? >> i have in the past. i've not yet endorsed a candidate. i likely will tell the audience who i'm going to vote for though before january 3rd. >> how soon do you think you'll make a choice? you were given a lot of credit for mike hukabee's success in iowa speaking favorably about him on your radio program. >> i'm having a tough decision like everybody else. last time i thought we had one great candidate. this time i think we have several good ones. >> steve, good to talk to you. hope we can get you back on. thanks so much. you have a good weekend, all right? >> you too. coming your way in about ten minutes, we're going to be doing our political buzz panel. see what they thought about the debate last night. also find out if rick perry

really is the tim tebow of iowa. also coming up, how low can these rates go? you need to hear what mortgage rates are doing right now. >> why can i not go visit this man? he's used to beating people up in the movies. this is real life. this is different for christian bale. he's the one getting pushed around and punched by chinese security and a cnn crew was on hand. we'll show this to you. nyquil: you know i relieve coughs, sneezing, fevers? tylenol: me, too. and nasal congestion. nyquil:what? tissue box (whispering): he said nasal congestion... nyquil: i heard him. anncr vo: tylenol cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion... nyquil cold & flu doesn't. ♪

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24 minutes past the hour. now some good news for you perspective home buyers. mortgage rates have hit record

lows again. karina huber at the new york stock exchange for us. just how low can these things go? seems like every time we say another new low, another new low. >> i know. that is the big question. well, we are as low as they can go. let's take a look what freddie mac is saying. the average 30 year fixed rate mortgage is at 3.94%. that matches the all time low set back in october. 15 year fixed are even lower at 3.21%. here's the really good news, t.j. chief economist at freddie mac says they'll likely stay at these levels near the middle of next year. that can translate into big savings. that savings can be a few hundred bucks per month. if you compare that back to when rates were above 5%. we're seeing the perfect and rare combination. cheap home prices and low interest rates. it's a good time to buy. prices could continue to fall. as for people who already own

homes, they can refinance. we've seen that happening a lot. even better. more incentive right now to go refinance right now. the reason we're seeing this is because of treasury bond yields. they're low right now because there's so much demand for them. they don't need to be hard to attract buyers. they're seen as one of the few safe bets one can make with all of this uncertainty overseas and with the u.s. economy. >> hour into the trading day. how are the markets looking? >> looking pretty good. we're up 87 points on the dow. traders seem to be shrugging off a downgrade of u.s. and european banks overnight. they're optimistic heading into the weekend. shares of zynga haven't started trading. the game developer behind farmvil and words with friends. something you've seen if you're on facebook. they made their public day bu. they're starting at $10 a share. the company will have raised about a billion dollars in the

offering. zynga is valued at $9 billion. >> yeah, that isn't bad. karina, thank you as always. we'll check in again. we're getting close to the bottom of the hour now. the iraq war may be over. the fight for jobs and health care for iraq veterans it never scenes it seems. barbara starr with the story. >> reporter: after nearly nine years of war in iraq, it's over. but for the thousands of iraq veterans who served and have come home, the war may never be done. i sat down with five iraq veterans at a veterans of foreign war lodge in virginia. the war, they say, is not over because so many veterans still need help finding jobs, getting health care. >> i don't see how anyone in good conscience, be they a

general, be they a va official or politician can say that the war is over. >> reporter: their candor about how many americans lack of awareness of troop sacrifices can be tough to hear. >> it's not penetrating their daily lives. most american public. they can go to airports and clap for veterans or soldiers when they walk by, but there's not much more to that. >> there are ways in which having been to iraq i feel separates me from civilians, separates me from those who have never served. that's a barrier i still haven't been able to overcome. >> i think the attention span in the public is not broad enough for our troops. it's going to shift. the attention span is going to be focused on the current problems, current crises. not mopping up the mess of two wars. >> reporter: these five veterans have seen the horror of war. they all suffer from post traumatic stress. they are all enormously proud of

their service. >> i was so proud of the people i served with. at the end of the day, it wasn't about country, it wasn't about it, it wasn't so much about winning any type of war as much as it was about doing what we could do for our particular area of operations and making sure we all got back. >> reporter: barbara starr, cnn. virginia. >> you can tune in all day saturday for krrn newsroom special reporting about the war in iraq wrapping up. home from iraq. barbara starr sharing the stories. their firsthand impressions about the country they're leaving behind. again, that is this saturday. coming up next, our political buzz panel. we have some good characters for you today. they'll be giving you their take on what happened last night. find out if rick perry really is the tim tebow of iowa. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

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the bottom of the hour. some of the stories making head lines. military a ryanment junld way. also officials at the tokyo power company say a keeld shutdown has been achieved at the power plant. british american author has

died after a long battle with cancer. long-time contributor to vanity fair as well as newsweek was 62 years old. turn back to politics. time for political buzz. rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. who is playing today? cnn contributor maria cardona. sirius xm talk show guy, all around funny dude and great friend, pete dominick. republican strategist and columnist for the hill, share ri jacobus. good to see all three of you. fairly easy one. gop candidates had their last debate before the iowa caucuses last night. maria, first question to you. who stood out to you last night in a good way or bad way. >> michele bachmann stood out to me, t.j. she took it to several candidates, especially newt gingrich on the fan yi and freddie. slapping him down when he continued to say that she didn't have her facts straight. i thought that was a bit disrespectful. i thought she had great come

backs to that. i also think she took it to ron paul on foreign policy. she hurt him a little bit. she hurt newt gingrich a little bit. newt came off as arrogant, defensive. we saw a little bit of the rise of newt gingrich. in a place he is seeing his poll numbers slipping, that's not what you want to see. >> cheri? what do you think? >> he took the time that he needed to explain himself so others didn't have to try to explain it. newt gingrich did very well i think. he's very good at putting people in their place when they are misspeaking about him. i don't think he is respectful. michele bachmann is a mixed bag. she looks strong going after her opponents. that may have hurt her with some republicans who don't like to see that much negativity. i think it was a mixed bag for her but i think mitt romney, newt gingrich as expected both did very well. >> pete? >> i thought michele bachmann did a good job standing up to

the boys last night. took it to newt gingrich and ron paul. i thought ron paul was amazing with foreign policy. point about how he had 30 years with russian missiles pointed at us. i thought mitt romney played it safe. he kept the plastic on the couch, t.j. that $10,000 smile didn't go after anybody. if newt gingrich gave a seminar on confidence, i would take it. that guy is amazing. rick santorum was there and he helped iowa caucus voters know how unequal he thinks gay folks are. >> let's move on to rick perry and a moment that stood out to us all. let's listen. >> there are a lot of people out there. i understand it. there are a lot of folks that said tim tebow wasn't going to be a very good nfl quarterback. there are people who said he doesn't have the right throwing mechanisms. 's not playing the game right. he won two national championships. that looked pretty good.

we were the national champions in job creation in texas. i'm ready for the next level. let me tell you, i hope i am the tim tebow of the iowa caucuses. >> cheri, what did you make of it? is that a good comparison? >> my football ak cue men is very limited. unless you want to put up a test pattern, play some elevator music, i'd like to go to how i thought rick perry did. i thought he helped himself last evening. had this been the rick perry that showed up at the beginning of the debates, he would have been top tier. so he comported himself well. i think he helped himself a good bit last night. might be too late. >> we put you in a bad position asking you a football question. maria, let me come to you. what did you think of the comparison he made last night? >> i thought it was cute. clearly tim tebow is the "it" boy right now. i think rick perry did as well

as he could have using humor and using the "it" boy of the moment. wouldn't he rather be the aaron rodgers of nfl. he won the super bowl, won mvps, probably will this time around. the aaron rodgers is what the gop political process is missing. a winner that is recent and somebody who has a very bright future. that's what they're missing. >> well, pete, she clearly didn't like the tim tebow reference. what did you make of it? >> maria, i don't know where aaron rodgers is on pro-life. tim tebow, famous for doing a pro-life ad with his mom. tim tebow and rick perry have one thing in common. they both crowbar religion somewhere where it's not supposed to be, politics and sports. what was with that first answer rick perry gave? he wasn't drowsy anymore. i'm like tim tebow. the only thing that would have made that better, the answer, if he ended the segment by tebowing. >> we're going to get a shot of

that if people don't know. go check out tebowing.com. buzzer beater for you now. 20 seconds left. talking about gary bucce. he was backing newt gingrich. now he's backing off that endorsement. yes, the actor, maybe a crushing blow to the gingrich campaign. here's one person's late night opinion of it all. >> speaking of the campaign, yesterday gary busey withdrew, this is big political news, by the way. this was worth standing in the rain for. yesterday gary busey withdrew his endorsement of newt gingrich. yeah, mr. busey has gone back to his prior position of endorsing a jar of rais so ns. >> we love him, don't we? south carolina governor set to endorse mitt romney. maria, start with you. who's the better endorsement to have and why? >> well, i think clearly nicky,

but for this question i don't know what's more offensive to nicky for being compared to gary busey or to newt gingrich who a has-been actor who suffers from a brain injury is wafling on endorsing him. >> blame the writer for the question. >> i think the gingrich camp is jump being up and down. the nicky hailey endorsement is very, very valuable to mitt romney. i think that's something he can feel very good about. a real feather in his cap. >> pete? >> i think gary busey only endorsed newt gingrich because he lost a bet with his toaster, t.j. this is a great endorsement. nicky hailey is a great endorsement. he did not do well in south carolina last time around. she has tea party support and establishment support. great for mitt romney and a great week. he got a christine o'donnell endorsement and nicky hailey. if he gets these endorsements from strong republican women,

newt gingrich might endorse mitt romney just to get to know the ladies. >> pete, it was going so well. >> before we leave, i know you're moving on. before we leave i want you to know one thing, my friend. you've been great. you've been so great to me. i want you to know, i love you. >> i love you too, pete. i mean that. thank you so much. we're not done. we're not done. going to be in touch with all of you guys. thanks so much, guys. >> happy friday. >> you all have a good weekend. about 40 minutes past the hour now. we need to turn back to a story that continues to develop. telling you about this army private, the one suspected about being behind the biggest intelligence leak in u.s. history. brian todd has been keeping up with this case. brian on the line with me once again. in front of the camera this time. brian, give us that update. >> reporter: t.j., some pretty dramatic developments in the courtroom this morning. the attorney for bradley manning, david coombs, came out

with guns blazing and accused the investigating officer who was essentially acting as a judge in this article 32 hearing accusing that investigating officer of being prejudiced and asking him to recuse himself. that officer is now taking it under advisement hearing from prosecutors. they're taking a break. a very aggressive move by bradley manning's attorney. he says this investigating officer is prejudiced for four essential reasons. one, because he is a career department of justice prosecutor in the d.o.j. is holding its own separate investigation of bradley manning and so the defense attorney says that's a conflict. second, that he is accused of allowing a disproportionate amount of witnesses to testify for the prosecution but not nearly as many for the defense and he argues that that's president digsal for that reason. also, manning's defense attorney says that the investigating officer's ruling that this could be open to the media is prejudicial, that it would be better to keep it closed and more even handed. for a fourth reason he says that you've allowed sworn statements

from people who essentially have not been sworn in, even statements from people to testify over the phone and that's prejudicial. so four reasons he laid out right off the bat. he's laying down a marker, bradley manning's attorney is, saying to this investigating officer who's supposed to be presiding over this as, again, an even-handed judge of these proceedings saying you're prejudicial. you should remove yourself from this case. he did it right off the get-go. they're taking it under advisement. it's a clear marker from the attorney about how aggressive he will be in his defense. he is really going after anyone who can be at least perceived as prejudicial in this case. >> brian todd, thank you so much for the updates. about 42 minutes past the hour. joining me next will be our a.j. hammer. he has your "showbiz" headlines for you including britney spears about to walk down the aisle.

here comes thebride. britney. let me bring in "showbiz tonight" host a.j. hammer in new york. now she's not even engaged yet but -- i mean, we're not spilling the beans, are we, man? >> no. no we're breaking the mold. we don't normally report engagements before they happen. jason trawick is reportedly going to pop the question later

tonight in las vegas. she does know about it. if she didn't, it's out there. britney, i'm sorry if i spoiled it for you. he is a talent agent. they've been together for a while. they've been public about their relationship. t.m.z. reporting that he's been shopping for an engagement ring. he's even arranged things with britney's conservator. that's been since 2008. she had some very public drama and a judge has to sign off on any major decisions that she makes, but according to the reports, the conservatorship is still in place because it's been working so well for britney's career and life. vegas and britney and weddings have some history. married her first husband there. this is almost exactly 12 years ago. t.j., that marriage was annuled after just 55 hours. of course her second marriage ended in divorce. we're all pulling for britney. hope she found lasting love for jason. in case things don't work out there's already a report out there that a prenup is in place.

very modern here in 2011. taken care of before the engagement even happens. >> awfully romantic story. she went through a lot of things. pulling for her. katy perry, what's going on for her? big honor? >> yeah, mtv has named her their artist of year. this is a new honor. they chose her in part because she became the first woman and only living artist to have five singles off the same album hit number 1 on the billboard chart. she beat out adele for that honor. congratulations, katy. >> a.j., thank you. as always. if you want more a.j., i know you do, in everything breaking in the world of entertainment he's got it for you this evening. "showbiz tonight" 11:00 on hln. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance...

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look at some stories that will be making news a little later today. at noon eastern, the teen best known as the barefoot bandit. he has a plea hearing in his home state of washington. president obama speaks to a jewish conference. that happens a little after 2:00. cnn's wolf blitzer serves as emcee for an award ceremony at 7:30 in d.c. >> coming up here, kayakers

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-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com give you a look at some of the stories making news cross-country. look at that. three dare devil kayakers dropping one by one down a 90

foot waterfall. yes, they did this on purpose, i'm told. they recorded this whole plumbing from every angle, even were wearing helmet cams. the people in charge of this fall in alabama, they're none too pleased with these kayakers. the video made it on line. they're considering banning kayaking in the area. also a tim tebow tribute. got some students suspended. you've heard of this. tebowing. this happened at river head high school in new york. a lot of people are doing this. website dedicated to that as well. they're kneeling on one knee. a bunch of other students joined in. the principal was not amused. suspended the boys for a day. come on, man. also a california man got stuck in his chimney overnight. this is 20-year-old man, he wedged himself eight feet down. his feet were dangling and touching the floor actually.

firefighters were able to squeeze him out using soapy water. i know what you're thinking, why was he in the chimney in the first place? was he robbing the place? it's his home. they think he was trying to sneak in after curfew. he's 20 years old. he still has a curfew? it's been a pretty good morning for mitt romney. his presidential campaign scoring a major endorsement from south carolina governor. mark, hello to you, kind sir. why is she doing and why is it a big deal? >> huge deal, she is the governor of south carolina. that state will vote third in line after iowa and new hampshire. south carolina a very important state because many people think that it is social conservatives, evangelicals that will really play the big role down in south carolina in helping select the republican presidential nominee.

now mitt romney, of course, has decided to play in iowa which is also really dictated by social conservatives. he is playing there. he expects to win new hampshire. then a lot of people think it will come down to south carolina getting the backy of nikki who was elected in 2010 is extremely big on two levels. she's the governor. she has an operation in the state that, in fact, she can help mitt romney try to win that primary in january. also she is a woman and that could potentially help the governor, former governor of massachusetts, with women republicans. >> all right. and we're going to leave it there. i understand congratulations are in order to our mark preston here who has picked up a new title as our political director. want to say congratulations to you. i remember the days we first started putting you on the air on the weekends. you could barely even put i don't remember earpiece in. now you're all grown up. >> i was mumbling back then and i still am. >> that's all right. you've mumbled your way through it just fine.

mark preston, it's been a pleasure working with you, no doubt. i know you'll move on to big things. congratulations on playing another prominent role for cnn during the political season. >> thanks. another political update coming your way in one hour. reminder for the latest political news go to the website cnnpolitics.com. that is going 20 wrap it up for me here. thank you for allowing me to sit in the seat here for kyra phillips. after the break suzanne malveaux picks things up for us in the "cnn newsroom." stay here. and tastes simply delicious. for those of us with lactose intolerance... lactaid® milk. the original 100% lactose-free milk. and...an apology card. this is ridiculous. yeah, and it's got apps. nice. it's got vudu, twitter, facebook. no honey, not facebook. ♪ honey, you think my sweater's horrendous? cats don't skate.

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